Open WhisperSystems >> Blog >> The New TextSecure: Privacy Beyond SMS

Today’s release of TextSecure is the final step in the transition from a private SMS app to a private asynchronous IM app that does not depend on SMS/MMS.

Using the lessons we’ve learned from the SMS environment over the past four years, we’ve developed an open protocol for asynchronous chat that enables private communication instantly with friends, private groups for realtime collaboration, and the ability to quickly and seamlessly share media privately – all without depending on SMS.

High Privacy, Low Friction

At Open WhisperSystems, our objective is to advance the state of the art for secure communication, but also to reduce the friction required for ordinary people to make use of it. We want everyone to have access to advanced secure communication methods that are as easy and reliable to use as making a normal phone call or sending a normal text message.

With an advanced ratchet, enhanced deniability, and an asynchronous orientation, we believe the TextSecure V2 protocol represents a significant step forward in what’s possible for the asynchronous chat environment today.

We’ve also made a substantial effort to simplify the typically difficult user experience that comes with end to end encrypted communication. The new TextSecure protocol doesn’t require a round trip key exchange process, eliminates half-open sessions, and is lightning fast – all without compromising forward secrecy or deniability. This creates an experience that takes encryption entirely out of the user’s way. A user simply sends a message, and it’s encrypted end to end, every time. Unlike other IM services, there is no distinction between “private” chats and “normal” chats. Private is normal.

Mark Aldiss‘s insight:

Today’s release of TextSecure is the final step in the transition from a private SMS app to a private asynchronous IM app that does not depend on SMS/MMS.

Using the lessons we’ve learned from the SMS environment over the past four years, we’ve developed an open protocol for asynchronous chat that enables private communication instantly with friends, private groups for realtime collaboration, and the ability to quickly and seamlessly share media privately – all without depending on SMS